First, the defense of Tianjin, the comparison of forces between the two sides.
1On May 30th, 862, Ceng Guoquan led Xiang troops to the Yuhuatai south of Tianjing. Ceng Guoquan has 18 battalions with about 9,000 people, and Peng Yulin also has 18 battalions with about 9,000 people. The total strength of Xiang Army is about 1.8 million. At this time, Hong Xiuquan had about thirty thousand soldiers in Tianjing. The main force of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is in Li Xiucheng's hands, in Su Fu and Zhejiang. 1in July, 862, Hong Xiuquan called reinforcements from all walks of life, totaling 90,000 people, and repeatedly attacked the Xiang army in Ceng Guoquan, all of which failed.
1In September, 862, under the strict pressure of Hong Xiuquan, Li Xiucheng led thirteen kings130,000 people to set off from Suzhou and went around Yixing to the south of Yuhuatai to counter-encircle Ceng Guoquan. Together with more than 30,000 Li Shixian from Zhejiang, the total strength of Li Xiucheng is about 1.6 million. At this time, there were only 30,000 people in Ceng Guoquan. Because of the epidemic of plague in the south of the Yangtze River, nearly 10,000 people died of illness, and only 65,438+100,000 people in the Xiang Army had fighting capacity. In addition, there are 9,000 Xiang navy divisions and 5,000 Zeng Zhengan protecting the route for providing foodstuff on Jiangdong Bridge. Zeng Guofan also mobilized three battalions of navy and 5,000 Lu soldiers to support Ceng Guoquan. Therefore, the total strength of Ceng Guoquan should be 40,000 (excluding 1 1,000 people who died of illness).
Second, the reasons for the failure of Tianjing Defence War:
1, Hong Xiuquan misdirected.
Hong Xiuquan is good at ideological and theoretical work, but his military ability is really not good. But at this time, he is the supreme leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and no one dares not to carry out his orders. At that time, the artillery level of Qing army and Taiping army was average. As long as the defenders dig deep trenches and build thick walls, the attackers will suffer big losses. But Hong Xiuquan chose to attack.
In addition to the troops protecting the route for providing foodstuff, only 40,000 people from Ceng Guoquan came to attack Nanjing. The wall of Nanjing was more than 70 miles long and could not be surrounded at all. So Ceng Guoquan has been in Yuhuatai, south of Nanjing, with emphasis on the south of Tianjin. Hong Xiuquan only needs to be on the defensive in Tianjing with 654.38 million troops, and does not need to storm the Yuhuatai in Ceng Guoquan. At this point, Hong Xiuquan called 90,000 reinforcements from all walks of life, plus 30,000 people in the city, which can completely fight a protracted war with Ceng Guoquan. What's more, a plague broke out in the Qing army.
In the stalemate, the two sides fought each other's way to grab food and carried out a long-term war of attrition. As long as we strive for supplies from the rear, the grain base of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is only around Su Chang, which is also a key business place in Li Xiucheng. Only when Su Chang is saved can Tianjin have a steady supply of food. Hong Xiuquan transferred Li Xiucheng to solve the siege of Tianjing, which was a big mistake. Hong Xiuquan sent Li Xiucheng across the river to attack Wuchang, adding insult to injury.
2. Unfair employment
Before the defense of Tianjing, I used my two gluttonous brothers to preside over government affairs. The two men either took bribes or suppressed dissidents. And most importantly, at that time, Li Xiucheng was eager to return to Suzhou, eager for quick success and instant benefit, and went astray.
Before Li Xiucheng returned to Tianjing, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army was already attacking Suzhou, the territory of Li Xiucheng. Due to the urgent imperial edict of Hong Xiuquan, Li Xiucheng had to lead an army to save Tianjing, but he was worried about Suzhou.
So, at the beginning of the battle, eager Li Xiucheng began to use the sea of tactics and ordered the soldiers to dash. Faced with a large number of Taiping rebels, Ceng Guoquan knew that recklessness was doomed to failure, so he dug a deep ditch and built a high wall? Retreat to protect yourself? Strategy, don't take the initiative to attack, focus on firepower.
As a result, the Taiping Army's maritime tactics are basically useless. They rushed through a group and were killed by a gun. After more than ten days of fighting, tens of thousands of people were killed and injured, but it had no effect. On the contrary, it damaged the morale of the Taiping Army and weakened its combat effectiveness.
Can't Li Xiucheng, can only be desperate to launch a more violent charge. But Xiang soldiers also know that either you die or I die, and they also kill red eyes and fight to the death. Finally, the Taiping army could not attack for a long time. After 46 days of bloody fighting, Li Xiucheng had to quit fighting and retreat to Tianjing.
3. Low morale.
Since the Tianjing Incident, the military talents in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have withered, and the cohesion has also greatly declined. The deaths of Yang and Wei Changhui implicated a large number of early generals and soldiers. Shi Dakai ran away angrily, taking away hundreds of chosen men, and his fighting capacity was greatly reduced.
Soldiers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are not as effective as veterans in Guangxi. The newly-built Taiping Army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces has extremely low combat effectiveness. Many people are just window dressing. They saw that the momentum was wrong and dispersed in a hubbub.